Thursday, 13 May 2010

5. Alan Weir

Position : Centre half

Played : 1979-80 to 1982-3

Appearances : 106

Goals : 3

Alan became our record signing in the summer of 1979 when Doug Collins signed him from Sunderland despite him having played only one league game for them. The fee for the former England Youth international was reported at the time to be £20,000 but was later revealed to be around £8,000.

Alan , like Nat Stanton, was a relatively short guy who played alongside the big centre half and mopped up. He was also hard as nails. His first season, 1979-80 was arguably the worst in Dale’s history and at the end of it Bob Stokoe released him (how strange to give your record signing only a one year deal !). Then Stokoe resigned and Peter Madden countermanded Alan’s release. He was a regular choice for the next two seasons but in his final season with us he lost his place to Bill Williams. Jimmy Greenhoff released him and he went to Hartlepool where he played 10 games in the early part of the 1983-4 season before drifting into non-league football with Whitley Bay.